Leicester City v Arsenal (2019-20)
| next = }} Leicester City v Arsenal was a match which took place at the King Power Stadium on Saturday 9 November 2019. Leicester City moved up to second in the Premier League as second-half goals from Jamie Vardy and James Maddison secured victory against Arsenal to put more pressure on Gunners boss Unai Emery. The Foxes had looked set to be frustrated as they missed several chances in the first half while Wilfred Ndidi struck the bar early in the second period. But Vardy finally broke the deadlock as he finished off an excellent team move, firing in his 11th goal of the season after Harvey Barnes and Youri Tielemans cut open the Arsenal defence. Maddison then made sure there was no way back for Arsenal with a low strike through Héctor Bellerin's legs and into the back of the net. Victory means Leicester move up to second with 26 points from 12 games, five behind leaders Liverpool. Arsenal, meanwhile, are now eight points off the top four and are without a win in the Premier League since beating Bournemouth 1-0 on 6 October. Eighteen months ago, former Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis hailed the arrival of Emery as a coach who "plays an exciting, progressive style of football that fits Arsenal perfectly". That description was certainly accurate about one of the teams on the pitch at King Power Stadium on Saturday, but it was not Emery's side. The Foxes possess a clear identity and a togetherness that appears to be absent from this current Gunners side who, apart from occasional flashes, rarely troubled their opponents. Leicester dominated possession from the outset and even though they missed a number of decent chances - Ayoze Pérez firing just over after capitalising on a defensive error and Maddison putting a free-kick on the roof of the net - there was always the sense that the Foxes would find a way through. So it proved in the second half as they scored the sort of goal that Arsenal teams of the past did with regularity - Barnes picked out Tielemans with a clever backheel and the midfielder immediately found Vardy at the far post where the in-form striker made no mistake. From then there was only going to be one outcome as Leicester eased to a fourth successive Premier League win. Rodgers has been linked with replacing Emery at Arsenal, but given where the two clubs are in the table and in terms of form, it is hard to see why he would consider a move to Emirates Stadium. It has certainly been a tough season for Arsenal boss Emery, both on and off the pitch. He has faced criticism for the way he has handled the much-maligned Mesut Özil, while it remains to be seen how the decision to remove the captaincy from Granit Xhaka will affect an Arsenal team that already appears to be struggling with confidence. All this has been happening alongside inconsistent performances on the pitch and this was a game Emery really needed to win to relieve some of the pressure on himself. The Gunners had drawn their last four games in all competitions, letting slip a lead in each of those fixtures and in an effort to combat that and also stifle the threat of Vardy, Emery employed a three-man defence for the first time in the league this season. Arsenal certainly kept their shape better than in recent games but they still lacked conviction in their play, with misplaced passes from the back gifting Leicester chances on a couple of occasions. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had an effort ruled out for offside but ultimately Arsenal did not show enough of an attacking threat as they finished the game with just a solitary shot on target. This was their 50th league game under Emery and they have won 87 points, one fewer than they won in their final 50 games under Arsène Wenger. Match Details Maddison |goals2 = |stadium = King Power Stadium, Leicester |attendance = 32,209 |referee = Chris Kavanagh }} |valign="top"| |valign="top" width="50%"| |} Match Stats Match Stats= {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |- !width=130|Overall !width=70|Leicester City !width=70|Arsenal |- !scope=row|Goals scored |2||0 |- !scope=row|Total shots |19||8 |- !scope=row|Shots on target |7||1 |- !scope=row|Ball possession |51%||49% |- !scope=row|Corner kicks |5||4 |- !scope=row|Fouls committed |10||10 See also *2019-20 Premier League: Match day 12 External links * Match report at BBC.co.uk * Match report at Premier League.com Category:2019-20 Match Day info Category:Leicester City F.C. matches Category:Arsenal F.C. matches Category:2019–20 Premier League Matches